''Mel Bay's Deluxe Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'', also known as the ''Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'' or ''Deluxe Guitar Chord Encyclopedia'' is a best-selling encyclopedia of

guitar chord In music, a guitar chord is a set of notes played on a guitar. A chord's notes are often played simultaneously, but they can be played sequentially in an arpeggio. The implementation of guitar chords depends on the guitar tuning. Most guitars ...

s, first published by

Mel Bay Mel Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997) was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'' remains a bestseller. Biography Early life Melbourne E. Bay was bo ...

in 1971. It is a staple in the study and teaching of guitar. The encyclopedia contains 324 different chord types; 27 in each of the 12 keys with thousands of shapes and inversions. The 27 chord types covered in each key are major, minor, diminished, augmented, seventh, minor seventh, seventh augmented fifth, seventh flat fifth, major seventh, major seventh flat third, major seventh flat fifth, seventh suspended fourth, sixth, minor sixth, ninth, minor ninth, major ninth, ninth sharp fifth, ninth flat fifth, seventh flat ninth, seventh sharp ninth, sixth add ninth, eleventh, augmented eleventh, thirteenth, thirteenth flat ninth, and thirteenth flat ninth flat fifth. The chords are "presented in each key and are broken down into melody, inside, rhythm, and bottom four-strings." The book has since been published in a case-size edition by William Bay, Mel's son and has spawned a series of similar books like the ''Encyclopedia of Guitar Chord Progressions'' (first published in 1977), '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chord Inversions'', ''Mel Bay's Deluxe Guitar Scale Book'', '' Encyclopedia of Jazz Guitar Runs, Fills, Licks & Lines'', and Piano, Mandolin and Banjo chord encyclopedias. The song "Ode to Mel Bay" (written and first recorded by Michael "Supe" Granda of the

Ozark Mountain Daredevils The Ozark Mountain Daredevils are an American rock band formed in 1972 in Springfield, Missouri. They are most widely known for their singles " If You Wanna Get to Heaven" in 1974 and "Jackie Blue" in 1975. Bassist Michael "Supe" Granda has al ...

and featured on the album ''

The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World ''The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World'' is an album by American guitarist Chet Atkins and Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. Recorded when Atkins was 73, this was his last release of original material in the 20th century. "Smokey Mountai ...

'' by

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...

and

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

), is a light-hearted song about Mel Bay's encyclopedia of guitar chords and the books in general. Mentioned in the lyrics, written by

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended universit ...

, is: "On page 21 you showed us how to play a G and on page 22 you showed us how to play a D, but lordy o lordy we never learned to play an E, because someone in the

outhouse An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry toilet, dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may als ...

stole page 23!"

References

{{Reflist 1971 non-fiction books Music textbooks Guitar literature Encyclopedias of music Guitar chords